CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2012
| Author | Hupkens, Jan |
|---|---|
| Title | The New Radical Right in the Western Political Landscape: The case of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom |
| Summary | This research will outline the recent rise of the New Radical Right, here abbreviated as the NRR, on the Western European political scene through a two-country comparison of The Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Whereas in the United Kingdom NRR electoral success has rarely exceeded the margin of 0.5 % resulting in no national parliamentary representation, The Netherlands has seen a sharp increase in NRR success, where since the early 2000’s parties such as the LPF have gained over 17% of the votes in 2002 and the PVV managing to obtain 15.5% in the elections of 2010. This research will argue that as a result of different political system, contradicting a two and multi-party system, the adaptability of the parties to the wider political spectrum and their position and distance towards the traditional radical right, alongside the skillful incorporation of charismatic leadership, an explanation can be provided for the relative discrepancy between NRR electoral support in both countries. Focusing on the parties themselves in direct relation to their political performance, a number of theories will be tested and de-constructed, including amongst others the framework of demand-supply side politics put forward by Jackman and Volpert, explaining the relation between the effects of globalization and NRR support, coalition theory by Robert Ericson, tracing the levels of political space for the NRR in different electoral systems and charisma theory developed by Max Weber, exemplifying the importance of charismatic leadership in NRR party formation and success. The addition of this research to the academia dealing with the Radical Right lies in the particular comparison between two countries sharing many socio-economic and historical similarities, allowing for a potential investigation of how institutional factors, socio-economic trajectories and personal traits shape the success of the NRR. |
| Supervisor | Fetzer, Thomas |
| Department | International Relations MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2012/hupkens_jan.pdf |
Visit the CEU Library.
© 2007-2021, Central European University